Lawson Commercial have let all four of the new office suites at Portland House in Framfield Road, Uckfield.

This impressive brand new building replaced the old original TR Fastenings factory and includes 2 floors of flats over ground floor offices.  There are 4 ground floor office suites of from 900 – 1,000 sq ft each with parking at the rear. Rents achieved ranged from £10,500 pa.

New occupiers include Hepplewhites, who have relocated their administrative offices from Tunbridge Wells,. Also Watton Hall Ltd, a specialist recruitment agency who have expanded into larger premises. PS Tech are an IT support & consultancy business from Edenbridge and Focus Select, are a telcomms company based in Southwick who wanted to open an office in Uckfield as they had quite a large number of staff who live in the area.

We are very pleased that these very high quality offices found occupiers so quickly once the building works were finished. There is generally a shortage of good high quality modern office space in the Town and we hope that there will be other new developments for the future.

A unique opportunity has just become available to acquire 3 shops, 2 flats and a large warehouse facility in the heart of Forest Row.

One shop and one flat are currently let and income producing. Bishops Hardware is a large spacious shop of some 3,000 sq ft capable of being split together with a rear warehouse of an additional 700 sq ft. It has a self-contained flat over which is let on an assured shorthold tenancy.

Next door is a delightful small self-contained shop of some 500 sq ft currently let and having a self-contained flat over which is vacant. The third shop of around 500 sq ft over 2 floors is vacant.

The total current income is £21,600 pa. The potential income is estimated in excess of £75,000 pa.

Offers invited in the region of £1,125,000 and viewing is strongly recommended.

Lawson Commercial have sold one of their more unusual instructions so far in 2019 this being a small, detached, brick store in Connors Yard off Crowborough Hill in Crowborough.

This was a building of just under £250 sq ft with no power or water and it has been sold on a freehold basis at a figure close to its original asking price of £36,000. This was certainly a different property to have to sell but we pride ourselves on being able to deal with any commercial building. There will always be a buyer for a freehold property somewhere.

The freehold of 53 High Street, Heathfield which was occupied by Pilio Restaurant has been sold as an investment to local Heathfield businesses people.

This was a very quick sale once this property came onto the open market with the sale being agreed within a matter of a few weeks. An asking price of £105,000 made this an attractive to a wide variety of investors.

We have a large number of people looking for retail investments in our thriving small Wealden towns and if anyone has a property they would like to sell we would be very pleased to hear from them.

3 Riverside in Bellbrook Business Park, Uckfield, which was under offer, is now unexpectedly re-available.

Overall 1,041 sq ft with 5 car spaces, this unit currently has a D2 use but planning permission has been obtained for change of use back to B1 but this has not yet been implemented.

The unit, which does not have a mezzanine floor,  is well decorated and has gas heating. It would be ideal for a small business or an existing business needing more space. A new 5 year lease is on offer at a rent £9,500 pa.

Lawson Commercial have been instructed to let one of the smaller units up at the Knights Business Centre, part of the Squires Farm Industrial Estate at Palehouse Common, near Uckfield.

Well placed for easy access to the A22, this particular unit is 1,560 sq ft this unit would be ideal for a small business who is looking for a moderate amount of space or just requires a small amount of storage.

This Estate has good transport links both coastwards toward Eastbourne and northwards towards the motorway network. It is available on a new lease at a rent of £12,500 pa.

Following their successful acquisition of the old Gunnebo premises on the Bellbrook Business Park at Uckfield, Mobiform Construction retained Lawson Commercial to market their old premises on the Sheffield Park Business Estate.

This was a series of interconnected industrial building of some 20,000 sq ft in total up at Sheffield Park which we have now let to the Tiny Box Company. Tiny Box already had some 15,000 sq ft on the Bluebell Business Estate across the road but needed more space as this fascinating specialist packaging company continues to grow at a rapid rate. They are well known in the marketplace particularly since Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones of the BBC Dragons Den programme invested in the company back in 2008. It is good to see another local company having the confidence to expand in these somewhat uncertain times currently.

Lawson Commercial have just been instructed to market a detached industrial building in Sheffield Park, between Uckfield and Haywards Heath, comprising a mixture of storage, workshop, showroom & offices providing flexible business space.

Overall 2,463 sq ft, the unit has 2 roller shutter doors providing access to storage & workshop facilities one of which has a full height glazed panel lending itself well to conversion to a showroom.

There is an attractively fitted out ground floor office with dado trunking and laminate floor plus a small mezzanine for additional storage.

The unit is available on a new 10 year lease at a commencing rent of £19,500 pa + vat.

The delightful rural office at Colemans Hatch on the outskirts of Hartfield has recently had a significant price reduction in the freehold price from £200,000 to £140,000 to encourage an early sale.

If you would prefer to rent then the property is available on a 3 year agreement at a rent of only £500 per month, a reduced annual rent of £6,000 pa.  Lying in a very attractive rural location this property is still just 1.4 miles east of Forest Row so handy for East Grinstead and is now extremely competitively priced.

Claudia Grattarola BA(Hons) MCD MSc MRICS is a Chartered Surveyor who has recently joined the Lawson Commercial Team to head up the Professional Department.

She has worked for 10 years in a variety of asset and property management roles. Much of this experience was gained at Intu Properties Plc, the UK’s largest shopping centre landlord, where she asset managed super-regional retail centres in London and the South East. Claudia’s career history also includes residential property management having previously worked for a mental health charity in Liverpool.

Claudia initially set out to become a Chartered Town Planner after an undergraduate degree in Geography developed her strong interest in people and places. She completed a Masters in Civic Design (RTPI accredited). She retains a strong interest in Town Planning. However her career path evolved when she was sponsored by Intu to complete a Masters in Real Estate and qualify as a chartered commercial property surveyor.

Claudia is a keen dog lover who holds a shotgun licence and, outside of work, can be found taking her Labradors and 12 bore for walks in the countryside.